2025 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

a bachelor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #88 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 438 bachelor's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Your choice of clinical, counseling & applied psychology for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality clinical psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on clinical, counseling & applied psychology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt clinical, counseling & applied psychology students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized clinical, counseling & applied psychology related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in California

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Clinical Psychology

1

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

218 Annual Graduates

$26,953 Median Starting Salary

University of California - San Diego is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make an average of $26,953 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of California - San Diego

2

Saint Mary's College of California
Moraga, CA

15 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Saint Mary's College of California if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Moraga.More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Saint Mary’s College of California

3

California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA

86 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology has to take a look at California State University - Fresno. Fresno State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Fresno.More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from California State University - Fresno

4

Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA

16 Annual Graduates

$21,473 Median Starting Salary

$25,400 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Mount Saint Mary's University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the clinical psychology program state that they receive average early career wages of $21,473.

More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Mount Saint Mary’s University

5

Biola University
La Mirada, CA

23 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Biola University

6

Azusa Pacific University College
San Dimas, CA

44 Annual Graduates

$41,803 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of San Dimas, Azusa Pacific's University College is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology bachelor's degree recipients from Azusa Pacific University College receive an earnings boost of about $9,803 over the typical income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Azusa Pacific University College

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	226	115
Oregon	185	103
Alaska	75	11

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Clinical Psychology

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Clinical Psychology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Clinical Psychology	175
Applied Psychology	93
Forensic Psychology	86
Health/Medical Psychology	44
Other Psychology & Counseling	15
Industrial & Organizational Psychology	14
Community Psychology	8
Performance and Sport Psychology	3

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Psychology	15,336
Child Development & Psychology	4,337
Other Psychology	133

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.